Oak Park Man Sticks To Guns, Wants Trial

September 16, 1987|By Andrew Fegelman.

A man accused of violating Oak Park`s handgun ban asked for a jury trial Tuesday rather than accept a deal offered by the village, which has been wrestling with a public relations nightmare since the arrest.

The village asked Lamar Richardson to admit that he owned the gun and in return agreed to ask only that the weapon be confiscated and that Richardson be put under court supervision, Village Prosecutor Bruno Graziano said.

But Richardson`s attorney, Michael Goggin, rejected the offer. ``They have to prove their case, and I don`t think that they can,`` he said.

Richardson was arrested in June three days after his home had been broken into. His pistol was used by the burglar during the home invasion.

``We don`t want to punish crime victims,`` Graziano said. ``The goal of the ordinance is to rid the village of handguns. Our position is that he is guilty, but what the punishment should be against him is a different question.``

Richardson`s arrest June 21 created an uproar among those who contended that the village shouldn`t press charges against otherwise law-abiding residents who had been crime victims. The arrest came after Richardson`s home was broken into and the burglar used Richardson`s .357 magnum to fire several shots at Richardson`s 17-year-old son, who had entered the house. The youth was not wounded.

What made the criticism more stinging were allegations that the village, which has prided itself on innovative policies for dealing with racial change, was racist in enforcing the handgun ban.

The critics, led by factions in Oak Park who have sought repeal of the 3- year-old law, cited the village`s decision not to prosecute Daniel Perry, a white resident, for using a handgun against a burglar. Richardson is black.

In deciding against prosecuting Perry in March, Village Atty. Raymond Heise said the ordinance wasn`t intended to punish crime victims. That statement has come back to haunt village officials.

The village appeared to be searching for some middle ground in court Tuesday, offering a compromise involving an admission that the law was violated but resulting in no real penalties.

In a statement before Cook County Judge Leo Wrenn, Graziano said Tuesday that the village was recommending that the judge sentence Richardson, 39, to court supervision and confiscation of his gun if Richardson admitted to the facts of the case as alleged by the village. Graziano asked that no fines or court costs be assessed against Richardson, who could have the decision removed from his record.

Village prosecutors have now turned to a strategy they tried to use last year against former gas-station owner Donald Bennett, who was charged with violating the handgun ban. Graziano said he will try to make the proceedings against Richardson a civil rather than a criminal case, which could increase the village`s chances to obtain a guilty verdict.

But Goggin said Tuesday that such a proceeding would amount to self-incrimination for his client. Under civil rules, Richardson would be required to answer to the village`s allegations, which Goggin said amounted to an admission of the charges even before the facts of the case went before a judge or jury.